Water Mirrored Moon - 水鏡月

Part IV - The Western Emerald: 77. Bedtime Stories

The sun was a dark red ball in the west.

As the Seventh Prince came around the corner, he heard two voices from within his little cat's chamber and paused at the window, cocking his head with interest.

"Have your soup. It's almost time for sleep," said Cui Xi to the boy.

"Mistress, please tell me a story..." Xiao Chuan pleaded.

Cui Xi rolled her eyes, but she obliged him with a quick ruffle of his hair. Even though he was thirteen, Xiao Chuan had lived hard on the street, and bedtime stories were only things that he had imagined as a small child.

"Very well. I'll tell you about the woman who fell through the moon mirror in the river and went to another world," she said, looking away, laughing lightly.

"The moon mirror?" Xiao Chuan asked, with some scepticism. He leaned back with his arms crossed, waiting. Did she think he was a three-year old child? How could anyone believe that?

A mirror world? wondered Zhao Ling Xian, curious.

"There was once a woman who had a husband and two children.

"At the beginning, the man and woman thought they loved each other, but her husband never considered her feelings and the misunderstandings between them grew. She tried and tried to meet his expectations, but always failed.

"Perhaps it was selfishness on her part, but her heart became cold. She felt unloved, unvalued. He was not a bad person and I'm sure he loved her in his own way, but maybe he didn't know how to show it properly.

"Eventually something terrible happened to this family. In the end, the woman could not overcome the tragedy. She ran away from her sadness, her loneliness, and the feeling of being trapped. She ran to a faraway place and while she was on a boat on a wide river, she was lured by the beauty of the moon and let herself fall into the water.

"That night the water was very still, and the moon was full, floating in the water like a big white jade plate....and as she fell, she thought to herself how beautiful it would be to touch the moon in the water. As she thought this, out of the river, a giant spout reached to take her. Down and down she went, as the river swallowed her whole. Her vision became dark, and she had no idea how long she slept, but when she woke, she found herself on the riverbank in a faery land. The moon in the river had been a door to another world...a world full of magic and heroes.

"Although she was alone, she soon met many friends and through many adventures she eventually became someone worthy..."

Xiao Chuan stirred his soup.

"What a boring story! In the end, did she find a good lover, Mistress?" he asked, trying to hide a yawn.

She burst into wry laughter. He's right...it is boring as it's only the plot of every manhua I ever read...

"Perhaps she did... but finish your soup. I can see that you're about to fall asleep," she said, affectionately.